These MEPs may be members of a national party, or of a European political party, but for a political grouping to be formed in the European Parliament there need to be 25 MEPs from seven different states. Being part of a group grants access to state funds and committee seats, but the group members must be ideologically tied. Groups of convenience, such as the Technical Group of Independents, previously existed, but are no longer allowed, and the minimum requirements for group formation have been raised, forcing less numerous elements to sit as NIs.[clarification needed]

The number of Non-Inscrits rose temporarily from 48 at the beginning of the term to 100 between 16 and 20 October 2014 when the EFDD group dissolved following the departure of Latvian MEP Iveta Grigule. The EFDD group was restored when Robert Iwaszkiewicz (KNP, Poland) decided to join it.